History Final Short Answer

Front 1

April Theses

Back 1

Communist doctrine distributed by Vladimir Lenin on his return from exile. Denounced liberals and social democrats as well as the provisional government.

Front 2

February Revolution

Back 2

A revolution that occurred in 1917 that ended the tsar regime. Protesters clashed with royal forces until the soldiers eventually changed sides to side with the revolutionaries

Front 3

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Back 3

a treaty signed in 1918 between germany and russia that removed russia from WWI. It was extremely harsh but was lifted when germany was defeated by the allies

Front 4

Kulak

Back 4

A term used to describe russian farmers that were slightly more wealthy than their neighbors or refused to give grain to the collective. During Stalin’s leadership

Front 5

The Great Terror

Back 5

Also known as the great purge, a period of paranoia and expulsion of party members by Stalin and his officers. Sought to avoid rebeliion or dissent

Front 6

Nazi-Soviet Pact

Back 6

an economic and military pact between germany and russia during WW2. The treaty also secretly split up neighboring states in preparation for invasion. The pact was broken when Hitler invaded russia.

Front 7

The Winter War

Back 7

a small war between russia and finland in the first year of WW2. The russians claimed they needed the land around leningrad to keep it secure, but its possible they intended to conquer all of finland. Due to the purges, russia failed to conquer finland

Front 8

Katyn Massacre

Back 8

the mass killing of polish captives and nationalists by the NKVD during Stalin’s reign during WW2. Russia attempted to deny the event until 1980

Front 9

Yalta

Back 9

or the Yalta Conference, was a meeting between the leaders of the Allies (the big three)

Front 10

Stalingrad

Back 10

a city previously named Volgograd that was renamed after Stalin in 1925. A significant and symbolic city, was a main target of the nazis.

Front 11

COMECON

Back 11

an economic communist organization that the USSR organized with other eastern european countries in response to the western economic organization

Front 12

The “Secret Speech”

Back 12

A report made by soviet leader Nikita Nhkrushchev made criticizing the rule of Joseph Stalin. The speech spoke very negatively of the purge and of how stalin promoted himself, but retained support of communist ideals

Front 13

The Thaw

Back 13

a period of time brought on by Nikita Khrushchev’s anti-stalinist policies. This period reversed many of stalin’s ideals and brough about a more peaceful and free russia

Front 14

Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Back 14

a russian writer that criticized and brought to light many aspects of the soviet union including the gulags and labor camps. He was expelled from the soviet union until its dissolution.

Front 15

The Prague Spring

Back 15

an attempt to loosen the grips the soviets had on czechoslovakia perpetrated by Alexander Dubcek in 1968. The reforms were halted when the soviet union invaded czechoslovakia. The only lasting changed produced was the splitting into czech republic and slovakia

Front 16

Mikhail Gorbachev

Back 16

the eighth and final leader of the soviet union. a peasant who worked in collectives and rose through the ranks of the soviet union. He helped end the cold war and contributed to the dissolution of the soviet union.

Front 17

Glasnost

Back 17

a policy instituted by Gorbachev that promoted openness and freedom of speech. The policy led to increased criticism of the current government and led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union (1980’s)

Front 18

Perestroika

Back 18

a policy instituted by Gorbachev that aimed to restructure the soviet economy and political system. It didn’t end the command economy but it was designed to streamline the process to meet the needs of the people (1980’s)

Front 19

The Baikal-Amur Mainline

Back 19

a large railway that spanned a large portion of central russia. It’s construction was started in the 1930’s and largely carried out by labor camp workers. The line was later upgraded without the use of forced labor and was finished in 1984.

Front 20

The Brezhnev Doctrine

Back 20

a doctrine created the Soviet Union in 1968 to retroactively justify the invasion of czechslovakia. The policy limited the independence of soviet states by allowing the Soviet Union to invade whenever they felt communism was being threatened